Wow!!! What the hell am I doing? Any air travel these days is tough enough, but to go overseas to have complex medical procedures done? Am I out of my mind? Breathe, just slow down and breathe.
I know that the Medical Center, the Doctors and staff are considered top drawer internationally. So what’s bugging me about what I’m doing? My mind is racing and exploding as someone had just shaken a bottle of soda inside my head. I feel that there are a thousand unanswered questions and yet and still I KNOW I asked and had answered real questions…….
So this is about the other stuff. It’s stuff that ordinarily nice, polite well brought up people just don’t talk about. These thoughts that just keep surfacing that are no big deal in themselves. I just, I can’t keep them tucked away any longer. Politically correct or not!
The biggest fear is really my oldest one – change. I didn’t like leaving home to go to kindergarten. When I get into a hospital setting I just feel young and vulnerable. It is tough enough communicating with foreign born Medical personnel at home; that’s on my turf and now I’ll be on their soil. That’s certainly a scary situation. Going to a foreign country, and hope the doctors I’ve never met will understand enough American English so we both know what is going on. The nursing staff, rehabilitation, pharmacology, nutritionists too; will they understand that I’m alone and feel lonely or helpless?
It is time to reign in all of these run-away thoughts. It is time to make order out of chaos. Looking at them logically and in order of importance may help. If reservations have been made and everything is done on the home front then what is my next step? Get my great “A” support team in place. That was the first thing on the list. So now it is time to start packing your NEW EMOTIONAL POWER. You may also need to add a few things to your actual luggage.
Take a deep breathe and as you slowly release and empty your lungs allow your mind to go to a very special place. A place that you may have visited another deep breathe and release tension, toxins and negativity…..Now take a third deep breathe again releasing tension toxins and negativity. Each time that you take three easy breathes, you allow yourself to go into an easy relaxed state. The deeper you breathe the deeper the relaxation. Relaxation is just the absence of tension. Breathing is not optional. We breathe every day, day and night, releasing tension, toxins and negativity.
This is something you can do no matter where you are. Just remember to take THREE EASY BREATHES. If you are packing to go, waiting at the airport, at customs, for an MRI, for lab results, for a phone call, relaxing to fall asleep, at a traffic light. This will allow you to stay in touch with your body and to know what you need from a position of calm and clarity.
Bring photos of those that you love in a travel frame. A list of the phone numbers, country and city codes as well as the time differences so the when you call them; you can really talk to them. Bring a pillow, a stuffed animal or memento from home so it feels less foreign and of course more like home.
Identify some comfort foods that are possible within your dietary confines. It helps with those childhood pangs. Two spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream does it for me. A friend relies on cream of tomato soup and Ritz Crackers. I’m sure she could get the soup, but I’d suggest packing crackers if you’re really stuck on a favorite brand. If you feel comforted by Oreo cookies then bring your own. When I’m not well and grumpy or out of sorts, substitutes just won’t work very well.
Take THREE EASY BREATHES before you do another thing. Breathing is not optional. Breathing is always on the top of your to do list! This will allow for the clarity to make decisions that are right for you. So Breathe, three easy breathes releasing tension, toxins and negativities so you can stay calm relaxed and think clearly as you settle into a wonderful adventure.
Sandra Landsman, Ph.D., C.Ht., has been in private practice for over 35 years and is a noted international clinical consultant, lecturer, author, and seminar/workshop leader in the U.S. and abroad. Her expertise in hypnosis and metaphysics grew out of her creative work with clients with severe emotional disorders
Professional affiliations and certifications include International Association Counselors and Therapists, International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, National Guild of Hypnotists, National Council of Hypnotist Examiners, International Association for Regression, Research and Therapies. In addition Dr. Sandy is a Clinical Teaching Member of the International Transactional Analysis Association, and a Reiki Master Teacher. She received a Fellowship to the National Institute of Mental Health, and is in Who’s Who of American Woman, Who’s Who of Medicine and Healthcare, Two Thousand Notable Americans, and Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals.
Dr Sandy’s newest creations include the CDs “Why Weight?” : A Cellular Weight Loss Plan to Lose Fat Cells with Hypnosis, and the “The Crystal Star Healing Meditation Collection”. For those with sleepless nights “Catch Some ZZZZZ”.
